Intelligence
by samuraigurl1213
Summary: AU. Hey Rae, do you think I'm smarterrific? BBRae. And suddenly, note passing isn't just a simple way to pass the time.


_Intelligence _

AU: For Matt, in his inspiration in this. Even if he doesn't know it.

The purple haired girl glared at the seemingly innocent piece of paper beneath her. She wanted to scream, yell at the poor, insolent fool who had sent her this— this aggravating note.

Did she seem like the type of girl to pass notes? No, she did not believe she gave any indication that she was that giggly, preppy girl, the one who didn't pay attention in class, smacked her gum loudly, and used profanities every other word. She was _not_ that type of girl. No, she wasn't, she _despised _those kinds of girls. She was the antithesis of _those _kinds of girls. So why would she be even slightly interested in passing notes?

It didn't matter to him, about this insult to her character, obviously, because the dark, messy scrawl stared her down, oblivious to the inner turmoil it was causing;

_Rae- Rae, I'm soooooo board._

Clenching her teeth, "Rae-Rae" could not help but feel the tiniest flutter, the fact that he was attempting to include her in something, some act of friendship. She dismissed it though as simply an act of his 'board-em'. And she herself would reluctantly admit, she was also 'board'.

Her dark eyes swiveled from each side, making sure no one could see her participating in such a despicable activity. Bending over the paper, she attempted to make her short, purple hair a curtain to hide what she was doing.

Irritably she thought to herself, '_Kori can probably write tons of notes. Her hair's long enough to actually cover what she's doing. In fact, she's probably not even taking notes during the teacher's lectures, but just writing notes to Richard… instead she gives off the appearance of being studious…'_

"Rae-Rae" shook her head at her rambling thoughts, and decided to concentrate on the paper in front of her. In her neat, tiny cursive she quickly replied;

_1) My name is Raven, as you are perfectly aware. I would highly prefer, no, demand that you not butcher my name, as such an insult to my culture, and myself. Do you have any idea of what Rae-Rae means in my heritage?_

Of course, Raven was completely making this up, but he knew nothing of her heritage, though she doubted that would stop him from calling her that abhorred nickname (because despite what everyone said she did _not_ secretly like it. Well, at least, not a considerable amount.) Raven continued to write, recently sharpened pencil dancing left and right;

_2) You are not board, you are _bored_. Please, if you are going to pass notes to me, use proper English, and grammar for that matter, along with my actual name. To be 'board' you would have to be a plank of wood. And though I doubt you and a board have much of a difference in intellect, a board does not have the opposable thumbs necessary to write pathetic notes to me. Thus, you cannot be a board, but _are _bored._

_3) We are taking a test you should _not_ be passing notes. It could be considered academic dishonesty. And we would fail. We both know you need at least a B to pass this class, so best not to fail from cheating, correct?_

_4) We're sitting right next to each other, so if you want academic dishonesty. Talk to me, not like I'd reply, or anything like that, but I know how you love hearing yourself talk. And of course your happiness means the world to me._

Satisfied, Raven read over her note one more time, making sure she had the perfect blend of insults with actual substance, and not too many insults to act wound his big ego, but just enough not to enlarge it anymore. Carefully, she slid the note over the fire-proofed smooth table top to the class clown, and her good friend, Garfield.

Garfield frowned slightly as soon as he saw how much Raven had written (and groaned slightly), but immediately went back to writing in reply.

Raven waited the course of several minutes, though she'd _never_ admit she actually wanted Garfield to reply, or was even absent- mindedly waiting for him to reply. As if! Yes, by all means she _had _discouraged him from writing back to her, but he shouldn't be stopped by a few simple sentences. He knew her better than that.

And she was truly 'board' herself.

Raven was almost worried that Garfield wouldn't reply, after all she had been heavier than usual with the insults, when the paper was slid back over to her.

Raven saw the muscular hand slide the lined paper, and then the head which belonged to the hand immediately looked to the right, away from Raven, and he whistled attempting to give the false impression that he was innocent.

Shaking her head at her friend's immaturity, Raven read;

_Dude, you write a lot. Anyways, since you're all systemy, I'm going to reply back all systemy So; ha!._

_1) I totally am aware of the fact your name is Raven, but Rae-Rae, is like ten gazillion times cooler. And we both know it don't mean a thing in your culture, and you were just trying to fool me. Didn't work though, so HA!- again._

_2) Sure, I'm bored, whatever, you got what I meant, what does it matter?_

_3) We aren't taking a test. We turned it in, so dude, don't worry about being accused of cheating. It's like, not possible. Plus we like didn't mention any of the answers. Though did you get the answer to numbers 1-30? I was like totally stumped._

_4) If we were talking, smart-one, we'd be yelled at for "disrupting the class", plus passing notes is so much more old school. And so much more cool._

_So… what do you want to talk about?_

Raven could feel the smile steadily enlarging on her face, but quickly hid it as she scowled (after all, he might be looking back, and she wouldn't want for him to see her amused) and scribbled back;

_Garfield, we are not talking. The better question would be; what lovely topic would you wish to write about? And why don't you tell me, since you are so very wise…_

The note came back almost immediately, almost enough to shock Raven.

'_Cause I'm no where near as smarterffic as you are, Rae- Rae._

_Hey, do you know where Kori and Richard are? I think you told me earlier but there were some dudes eating dead flesh- and you know how I get, right? _

Raven blinked awkwardly, where did he get Kori and Richard from? Was this just their subject they always brought up when they were bored, with nothing to talk about? One could talk hours about Kori and Richard.

But Raven didn't _want _to talk about Kori and Richard. Why was it always about them?

_I don't know, and I don't care. Get your mind out of the gutter Garfield. Can't we talk about something else, other than Kori and Richard's supposedly non- existent 'relationship'. They could be sick, they could be ditching, they could be called into guidance, they could be doing something to help a teacher, they could be passionately making out in the janitor's closet (god knows they've probably already done that enough times). Frankly, I really don't care, I don't give a hoot about the two of them, at least, not for every single waking moment of my life, unlike some people I happen to have the misfortune of knowing._

Playful banter, arguments, it seemed they couldn't even get along when writing notes to one another, which was pathetic, yet heart- warming, at the same time. Raven heard a light chuckle from Garfield, she wasn't sure she wanted to know what sparked it.

_Raven, do you think I'm smarterffic?_

She knew the boy was random and spontaneously moronic, but this was new… She blinked again as she reread the comment— _where_ _the hell did that come from_?

_Where the hell did that come from?_

The note came back in only a matter of seconds. Raven held her pencil ready in her hand, almost eager for the quick spout of note passing to come.

_Just answer the question._

Raven felt nervous, what had started out as an entertaining battle of wits, had turned into a… discussion. A slightly serious discussion… while passing notes. Oh, the irony. And why the hell did she feel nervous? He was just asking if she thought he was smart? Men, they're so complicated. One second they're asking you to pass them a hot dog (or a tofu dog in Garfield's case), and the next, they want to answer some biologically insane question, and _next _they try to convince you to become homosexual for their own amusement.

_Why, is my opinion that vital to you? Do I count so much to you, that you need my approval of the rate of your intelligence? Do I have so much power over you, that you feel you cannot go on without an answer from me?_

Sighing and shaking her head, the girl slipped the note to Garfield. Her moods conflicting of annoyance and intrigue as the paper was thrust into her hands. The answer came back quickly, but Raven felt the light conversation dying away as Garfield passed her this note.

_Yes._

For such a little, short three letter word, it seemed to contain immense power, like it had its very own gravitational pull attached to it. Raven felt the note getting heavier as Garfield passed it to her.

_Okay._

Now she was also being short, but if he was going to play this little 'game', then she was, too.

_Am I smart Raven? Smart, like school smart. 'Cause I know you're going to avoid the question by asking what I mean by smart, you always do things like that…_

Raven sighed, was he smart? (Why had he cut off her only other way of postponing this conversation?) In theory, it was a dreadfully simple question, but when it was posed to her- about him no less-, Raven had to rack her brain dry to figure out the correct response.

_Garfield… you're intelligent. Obviously, or you wouldn't be in the same class as me. You just don't use your intelligence much- at least in the way of school work if your grades reflect your level of intelligence. When you want to be smart, you are. But you lack common sense, and the want to show your intelligence._

_You're not book smart, but when you want to be, you're mature, you're wise. You seem to _know _things. You're an uncommon smart Garfield, don't change._

_Great, now I feel like a sappy Hallmark card. Either pick a new subject, or go back to Kori and Richard. I'd rather discuss what they might be doing in the closet then continue with this subject._

She felt the glow radiating off of him.

_Whatever you say, Rae._

She wanted to smile, but she scowled instead.

_Don't gloat._

She still wanted to smile, but she contained herself, not wanting to give Garfield any more credit than she thought he deserved. Despite her valiant efforts, he knew she wanted to smile. He just _knew_ her that well.

_Whatever you say Rae. But 'cause I'm so smart, I know you're loving this._

Now she wanted to whack him with a bat. She could just picture it in her head…

_Ass._

His reply was quick;

_-Hole?_

Oh yes, the want to whack him with a bat was diminishing. The want to whack him with a metallic bo-staff however, was growing stronger by the second.

And it wasn't typical, it wasn't cliché, it wasn't nice, and she'd be lying if she said she thought it changed anything, but it was them. And somehow, that made things… _great_.


End file.
